CLASSICAL RADIO

CLASSICAL RADIO; Play What They Want

Published: June 14, 1998

To the Editor:

As a professional classical-music broadcaster for 25 years, I am somewhat offended by Mr. Schiff's speculation about how and why I do my job. I would not presume to teach composition. Mr. Schiff would be ill advised to start a radio station.

Classical radio did not wake up one morning and decide to dish out candy. In my own city of Seattle, there were five classical stations in the 1960's. Each had its own character, and it is fair to say that a great deal of personality, eclecticism and range came forth from local radio. Did these generate an audience for ''new'' music in the concert hall? Did sales of Elliott Carter LP's skyrocket? Did these stations find an audience? The answer is quite obvious and Mr. Schiff knows it.

We are being accused of the sin of playing what most people want to hear. Perhaps living in an academic environment can allow one to forget that the real world has different tastes and priorities. A good part of me wishes that the appetite for classical-music radio were more diverse. But we tried it and it didn't work. Had we kept playing music that people didn't want to hear, we would be off the air, replaced by another variant of rock. If that offends Mr. Schiff, let him purchase a radio station for $40 million and try to repay the loan by playing Stockhausen or rambling on for 10 minutes about the inner movements of the late Beethoven quartets.

PETER NEWMAN

Seattle

The writer is the general manager and program director of KING-FM in Seattle.